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1sockchuck writes "Intel has just concluded a year-long test in which it immersed servers in an oil bath, and has affirmed that the technology is highly efficient and safe for servers. The chipmaker is now working on reference designs, heat sinks and boards that are optimized for immersion cooling. 'We're evaluating how (immersion cooling) can change the way data centers are designed and operated,' said Mike Patterson, senior power and thermal architect at Intel. 'I think it will catch on. It's going to be a slow progression, but it will start in high-performance computing.' Intel's test used technology from Green Revolution Cooling, which says its design eliminates the need for raised flooring, CRAC units or chillers. Other players in immersion cooling include Iceotope and Hardcore (now LiquiCool)."

You don't even have to go non-flammable - large transformers that you might see next to buildings have been using oil as a coolant and insulation for decades.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformer_oil

The cooler uses a NaK alloy. Check youtube and you'll see that this reacts violently with water and will ignite in air. The company claims that they wouldn't worry about leaks in the cooler but I wouldn't trust them or want that stuff near my expensive hardware. The craziness of using NaK alloy as a coolant for a computer is probably why the company closed it's doors.

This is a bit confused, I'm afraid. Diesel has a flash point of 100 to 200 Farenheit depending on the type of fuel, etc. If you get it that hot, or hotter, it can accumulate enough flammable vapor to burn.

In a Diesel engine, compression heats it, and it ignites. But compression is not the only way to ignite it.

In general, you need a wick. Diesel won't burn by itself, unless the temperature is very high or the air superoxygenated.

The same is true for gasoline, by the way. I used to fill a bottle cap with gasoline, and stub out my cigarette in it. It never caught on fire. The "no smoking" rule of gas stations is mostly because of people using open flames to light their cigarettes and pipes in a fume filled environment, and not so much a cigarette that isn't hotter than many exhaust pipes.

This is a bit confused, I'm afraid. Diesel has a flash point of 100 to 200 Farenheit depending on the type of fuel, etc. If you get it that hot, or hotter, it can accumulate enough flammable vapor to burn.

You need a certain ratio of vapour to air, and you still need something to ignite that vapour mix.

In a Diesel engine, compression heats it, and it ignites. But compression is not the only way to ignite it.

This is misleading at best, reading like you compress the diesel. You don't - liquids don't compress.You compress air, which heats to a heck of a lot more than 200F (more like 1000F), and also puts more oxygen per volume in the chamber. The high temperature of the air combined with the high O2 level allows the combustion to take place.